Hydraulic turbine torque converter



Jan. 24, 1939.

R. FICHTNER HYDRAULIC TURBINE TORQUE CONVERTER Filed Feb. 14, 1936 Inventor: Rudolf Fichtner;

` His Attorneg.

Planted .1m23.193s

mimmo 'rURnINE TonQUEooNvERTER r H'mR'udoff Fichtnen' Bcrlin,"Germany ,assigner 'to General Electric Company; a' corporation'oi` pplivcationvFcbruary ServialjNo. 63,974

Y In vGermany February16,1935 6 Claims. (Cl. Sil-54) yThe turbo' torquecon-verters -kncwn heretoforel Y ,Y -takefup the diierence between the input torque 4.and the output `.torque Abyineans of a t rimi'romwhich the said diierence is transmitted k toithe casing.,L Saidrim `has, an angularvelocity of zero and thusdoesnot contributeto the .input lor output of power. According to the present `iny las.y

power,.in .that; itis-allowed to rotate Ain a 4direction counter to the direction of the usual rotating turbo member, The work, therebyA liberated may `be. transmitted to a separate shaft, or it may. be transmitted tothezmain turbineshaft by means -oi areversing gear. In contradistinction to known machinesof `the v' Vtype stated, the present improved lmachine is characterized bythe feature thatthe iiuid con-fl V'taining circuit of the torque converter consists of a rotary pump wheel4 and ltwo `rotatably mounted turbo wheelscoaxially arranged with respect to eachother andfwith respect tothe pump vturbo gearing. Within the Vtorque converter itself wheel, the blades oi the turbo wheels being so ar ranged that the, turbo wheelsfrotate in opposite directions 4with respect to each other. While in rthe known types of -torque converters the fluid circuit includes stationaryl guide lrims'or guide wheels it-isvpossible according to the present invention to obtain an output torque which is 4different Irfm the driving or input torque without the use si such stationary guide meansfin the the torques are always in equilibrium. The invput torque M is therefore equal tothe difference between the output torques of the two oppositely rotating turbo wheels o f the present invention, i. e., is equal to Mz-ll/Ia. These output torques are oDPOsite-in direction but can be addedrfor in- L stance throughthe use o f a reversinggear. There is therefore l,available forV useA Mz-,Ma which quantity canfonprinciple be increased at liberty sum ofthe two OutputtOrques has its maximum value during verylow speeds and thus gives the possibility of starting with greater torquethan f that of` the usual torque converters in whichonly .the output torque of one turbo wheel is available and in which the torque ofthestationary guide wheel is taken up by 'thejframe of the mahme. I'he .increased startingtorque `available in the torque converter of .the present invention isvof particular-value instarting vehicles although it vVtitli turbo guide-blade.

dition thereto`;'of

$10.11'. `ifvtile torque converter is used for driving vehicles, it may be necessary touse other well known-,apparatus such as hydraulic torque converters with stationary guide wheels for further acceleration .of the vehicle. Itis however not t necessary to. provide such `additional means ,since the hydraulic. torque converter of the present inventionthe guideb1ade rim is .used to; deliver Y,

ventioninayv easily be converted into atorque converter of the-,usual 'type in which the guide wheel is stationary. For this purposemeans may be provided to disconnect the counter-rotating v turbo wheel andlock it against rotation, after starting the vehicle with driving connections between Athev two Aturbo wheels and their respective The more the output torque is' increased, the greater is Vthe. decrease in speed of the driven shaft. With a machine of high eiiiciency of the three-rim type A(one pump wheel and two turbo wheels rotating counter to one another) transvmissionvratios can be obtainedv for which the known constructions would require at least four bladedmembers. The converter lcan also be built vany desired ratio'relative to one another.

Converters designed 'according to the abovestatedpoints of view also possess, like the known arrangements, vthe characteristic of having an fautomatic increase in the output torque when the speed of the rturbo wheels decreases, and are,

f tl'narefore.'` particularlysuited for driving vehicles. `In making use of vthe invention, for this purpose, fanytw'o axles orany two groups of axles can be driven without Athe undesired mechanical interconnection' Similarly to known machines, the `ii'vthe diiierence Mz-M; remains constant. The

present improved 4converteralsc has the advantage of giving anincreased output torque when Vnecessary over4 average requirements and, in adgiving an automatic increase of torquewheii starting. f

' For `a"higherfrunning speed the drive to several axles is frequently unnecessaryand undesired. In

such afcase itis particularlyfavorable if, in any lwellltnown manner., one'of therturbo wheels isl disconnected from its corresponding vehicle axle and` locked in position., ,There is thenobtained for starting ar two Vaxle drive with -great Atractive power; andrfor higher speeds acne-axle drive with correspondingly reduced tractive power.

By'suitably choosing the ratio of transmission tmf-ICE in the mechanical gearing between the disconnectable shaft and the corresponding turbo wheel it is possible to increase the tractive power up to the limit established by the wheel-friction.

The more one increases the tractive power by this means, the quicker the tractive power decreases when the vehicle is started and comes up to speed. This is particularly desired with vehicles as, for instance. Working vehicles for testing lines or switching locomotives which have to maintain a low but substantially uniform running speed even with widely varying tractive powers or running resistances.

By connecting the turbo-converter of the invention to a second turbo-converter of the same construction or to another turbo gearing an extended graduation of the transmissionmay be obtained for vehicle drives. Such combinations form the subject matter of my copending application Serial No. 63,975.

The invention is illustrated diagrammatically and by way of example in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is an axial cross-sec tion through a torque converter designed according to this invention. Figure 2 is -a similar representation showing a modication. Figure 3 is likewise a representation similar to Figure 1 and shows another modification, and Figure 4 shows a diagram. Figure 5 is a diagrammatic illustration of the blading of the pump wheel and the turbo wheels.

In all the figures a denotes a pump wheel, b denotes a turbo wheel rotating in the same direction as said pump wheel, and c denotes another turbo wheel running in a direction opposite to that of the wheels a and b. The driving shaft of the machine is denoted by d. In Figure 1 the turbo wheel b is connected to hollow shaft e on which is mounted a gear n. 'I'he turbo wheel c is connected to a shaft f. The wheels b and c thus drive the separate shafts e and f.

In Figure 2 both of the wheels b and c drive the same shaft f. For this purpose the shaft f is connected with the hollow shaft e by means of a reversing gearing g, comprising gears o, p, q,

r and s.

In the operation of Figure 1, the fluid circulates in the turbo gearing as indicated by the arrows. When torque is applied to pump wheel a through drive shaft d, turbo wheels b and c are caused to rotate due to the hydraulic coupling between the respective wheels. As is more easily seen from Figure 5 indicating the blading of the respective wheels, the turbo wheel b rotates in the same direction as pump wheel a, while turbo wheelc rotates in the `opposite direction. Since turbo wheel b is connected to hollow shaft e and gear n, torque may be delivered through gear n, to any suitable apparatus, not shown. Turbo wheel c is connected to driven shaft f which likewise may be coupled to any suitable driven apparatus.

In Figure 2, the arrangement is somewhat different in that a gearing is provided for coupling driven shaft e to driven shaft f. Since the turbo wheels b and c are rotating in opposite directions, it is necessary to couple these shafts through reversing gearing g, whereupon the torque from both of the turbo wheels b and c may be taken off through driven shaft f.

In Figure 3 the secondary shafts e and f are connected by means of gearing t, u and k, l, respectively to the shafts h and i. These shafts are connected to axles w and y of a vehicle through gears v, v' and zr, zr', respectively. The shaft ,f may in this case be disconnected from the shaft i and be locked in position. For this purpose the gear 1c which is splined on shaft f is shiftable so that it can be thrown in mesh with the gear l i on shaft i or locked against rotation by stationary member m.

In the operation of Figure 3, the differential converter operates similarly to that shown in Figure 1, that is to say, torque is transmitted to the pump wheel a through drive shaft d which pump wheel a, in turn, drives turbo wheels b and c. Turbo wheel b rotates in the same direction as pump wheel a and turbo wheel c rotates in the opposite direction. The torque produced by turbo wheel b is transmitted through hollow shaft e, gears t and u to shaft h which, in turn, drives vehicle axle w through intermediate gears u and v'. The torque produced by turbo wheel c is transmitted to shaft f. When gear 1c is in its left hand position and thus in mesh with gear l, the turbo wheel c drives shaft i through gears lc and Z which shaft i, in turn, drives axle y through intermediate gears a: and r. 'I'his arrangement gives a vhigh torque for starting and is particularly suitedv-for vehicle drives in that torque is transmitted to two axles, i. e., four wheels. With gear k moved toits right hand position, it is th'rown into engagement with stationary member m and locked against rotation. With this arrangement, the turbo wheel c is also locked against rotation and the differential converter then operates as an ordinary torque converter wherein turbo wheel cperforms the function of a fixed guide wheel or rim and turbo wheel b drives axle w through shaft e, gears t and u, shaft h and intermediate gears v and v. Such an arrangement is particularly suited for driving a vehicle at higher speeds wherein extra large torques are not necessary.

The relationship which may be obtained between output torque and speed for :the two stages of operation, is better demonstrated by reference to Figure 4 in which is shown a curveof the variation of the tractive forces-with respect to speed. The portion I of the curve corresponds to the operation with turbo wheel c coupled to shaft i and the portion II of the curve corresponds to the operation with turbo wheel c disconnected from shaft i and locked against rotation.

I wish it to be understood that my invention should not be construed as limited to the particular constructional forms described and shown in the drawing but .it is intended to cover all obvious modifications.

I claim: 1. A turbo torque converter comprising a iiuid containing circuit which includes a rotary pump wheel and two rotatably mounted turbo wheels coaxially arranged with respect to each other and with respect to the pump wheel. the blades of said turbo wheels being so arranged that the said turbo wheels rotate in opposite directions and act as a guide wheel with respect to each other.

2. A- turbo torque converter comprising a fluid containing circuit which includes a rotary pump wheel and two rotatably mounted turbo wheels coaxially arranged with respect to each other and with respect to the pump wheel, the blades of said turbo wheels being so arranged that the said turbo wheels rotate in opposite directions and act as a guide wheel with respect to each other, and driving connections between the said two turbo wheels and a rotatably mounted shaft including a reversing gear between one of said turbo wheels and said shaft.

3. A turbo torque converter comprising a uid containing circuit which includes a rotary pump wheel and two rotatably mounted turbo wheels coaxially arranged with respect to each other and with respect to the pump wheel, the blades of said turbo wheels being so arranged that the said turbo wheels rotate in opposite directions and act as a guide wheel with respect to each other, two separate driven shafts and driving connections between each of said two turbo wheels and each of said two shafts respectively.

4. A turbo torque converter for vehicles with axles comprising a uid containing circuit which includes a rotary pump wheel and two rotatably mounted turbo wheels coaxially arranged with respect to each other and with respect to the pump wheel, the blades of said turbo wheels being so arranged that the said turbo wheels rotate in opposite directions and act as a guide wheel with respect to each other, a driving connection between one of said turbo wheels and an axle of the vehicle and another driving connection between the other of said turbo wheels and another axle of the vehicle including means for causing said second axle to rotate in the same relative direction as said rst axle.

5. A turbo torque converter for vehicles with axles comprising a fluid containing circuit which includes a rotary pump wheel and two rotatably mounted turbo wheels coaxially arranged with respect to each other and with respect to the pump wheel, the blades of said turbo wheels being so arranged that the said turbo wheels may rotate in opposite directions and act as a. guide wheel with respect to each other, a driving con nection between one of said turbo wheels and a vehicle axle, a driving connection between the other of said turbo Wheels and another vehicle axle and means for disconnecting one of the turbo wheels from its corresponding driven axle and 'locking the same against rotation.

6. A turbo torque converter comprising a, fluid containing circuit which includes a rotary pump wheel and two rotatably mounted turbo wheels coaxially arranged with respect to each4 other and with respect to the pump wheel, the blades of said turbo wheels being so arranged that the said turbo wheels may rotate in opposite directions and act as a. guide wheel with respect to each other, two separate driven shafts, driving connections between each of said two turbo Wheels and each of said two shafts respectively for starting said shafts with high torque and means for preventing the rotation of one of the turbo wheels for further accelerating the shaft connected to the other of said turbo wheels.

RUDOLF' FICH'I'NER. 

